Most pilots at Selfridge Air National Guard Base in Harrison Township would not admit to being excited about Friday’s long-awaited release of “Top Gun: Maverick.”

Lt. Keith Crozier, however, is not like most pilots.

“I’m your typical aircraft nerd,” said Crozier, who dreamed of becoming a pilot since he was a kid, a passion that was partially fueled by the films he watched such as “Memphis Belle,” a 1944 documentary about a Boeing B-17F that served as a flying fortress during World War II.

He’s also the son of Bryan Crozier, who served in the United States Navy (1981-1987) aboard the USS Enterprise, which was the aircraft carrier used in the film of the first “Top Gun” movie starring the then 24-year-old Tom Cruise.

“I’ve probably watched that movie 100 times,” said Crozier, who remembers his dad talking about how crazy it was having a Hollywood film crew aboard the Enterprise.

Shelden Trails at Stony Creek Metropark is a recreation destination

At that time it was not only the largest ship in the U.S. fleet but the world’s first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. Since Crozier’s father worked on the ship’s nuclear reactors he spent a great deal of time below the deck. However, when he was on the flight deck he had his Nikon camera and spent a great deal of time capturing the planes landing and taking off. “He used to have this trunk, filled with photographs,” said Crozier, who, much to his father’s dismay, tacked his favorites on the wall of his room. 

“They were really cool shots,” Crozier said.

Now it’s his family, including his wife Colleen and their two kids, who have become fans of air travel, flying with him, when he’s taking their small plane out for a spin, or waving from Selfridge Field when he’s piloting a KC-135 Stratotanker for the 127th Wing, 171 air refueling squadron.  

After earning his bachelor’s degree and then becoming an officer in 2019, Crozier was selected to attend the pilot training program at Laughlin Air Force Base, similar to the one featured in both movies. In fact a magazine article about the flight training school in California is what attracted Jerry Bruckheimer to make the movie, “Top Gun.”

The cover of the magazine said, “At Mach 2 and 40,000 feet over California, it’s always high noon.” 

“I saw that cover and I said, ‘We gotta do this. This looks great,’” recalled Bruckheimer. “It’s ‘Star Wars’ on Earth.”